UFC President Dana White expressed his dissatisfaction with the
Swedish Mixed Martial Arts Federation on Wednesday in the wake of
the regulatory body’s decision to pull Alexander
Gustafsson from Saturday’s
UFC on Fuel TV 9 headliner.

Gustafsson last Thursday sustained a cut that required three
stitches, according to the fighter, who verified on his website
that the injury occurred after he slipped during wrestling
practice. Though the light heavyweight contender expressed his
desire to compete in spite of the cut, the SMMAF Medical Committee
ruled that the injury would not heal in time for the Swede to
receive clearance to meet Gegard
Mousasi on Saturday at Ericsson Globe Arena in Stockholm.
Gustafsson later posted a picture of the cut, which was located
below his left eyebrow but above the eyelid.

On Wednesday morning, White posted his own photo of the fighter
after receiving stitches.

“This pic was taken of Gustafsson today, and [you] can’t even see
the cut!!!” White wrote. “Worst decision I have EVER seen to pull
[a] fight.”

Mousasi will instead square off with Gustafsson’s countryman,
Ilir
Latifi, who makes his UFC debut riding a three-fight winning
streak. Following the SMMAF’s decision to pull him from the bout,
Gustafsson issued an apology to his fans and Mousasi.

“It is of course extremely sad when [my] training camp has gone
very well. Except for the eyebrow, I am in my best form and
completely ready for the match. It is also sad for my opponent,
Gegard Mousasi, who has also been training long and hard for this
match,” Gustafsson wrote on his official website. “My team and I
have done everything we can to get set up and compete despite the
cut; it is unfortunately not in our hands anymore. I am extremely
sorry for this, and I feel [for] Gegard Mousasi. The next step now
is that I sit down with the team and [start] planning the future.
Thanks again for all your support!”

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